


Always let your conscience be your guide

by Scared_Whale



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Character Death, Eventual Happy Ending, Fantasy, Fluff, Hannibal Loves Will, Hannigram - Freeform, It gets fluffier I promise, M/M, Possessive Hannibal, Post-Episode: s02e13 Mizumono, Will Loves Hannibal, Yayyy, doll Will, hohoho, little bit of unstableness, pinocchio au kind of, until shit happens, will is a smol boi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-02-15 02:49:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13021683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scared_Whale/pseuds/Scared_Whale
Summary: AU where Hannibal is a doll maker and sells the dolls he makes.He makes a small doll and places a part of Will's heart in it and names it Will GrahamAnd as if like it was a fairy tale, Will becomes real.// SLOW UPDATES //





	1. The Doll Maker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Behold the dollmaker :D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first fanfiction on this site so I'm just- 
> 
> Also my first Hannigram fanfiction so this is gonna be great :) 
> 
> Hope you enjoy this little AU I thought of when I was supposed to be sleeping

The soft ticking sound of the clock echoed through the room as the man hunched over his table worked on his next piece of art. His glasses hung from his nose and the only source of illumination was from the old antique lamp he had bought while on a vacation. The small doll in his hands moved from side to side as the man stitched the side of the doll shut, finishing it. The doll was and resembled a princess. She wore a blue ball gown which sparkled under the light. Her hair was tied into a neat bun and a tiara was placed on top of her head. Her facial expression was peaceful and calm, her smile was soft. The man placed the blue princess down next to the knight he made the other day. It was not a surprise that most of his customers were young girls searching for friends to take to their little tea parties. Sometimes young boys would come in asking their mothers to buy them the knight or prince dolls, very rarely did the man see young boys get the princesses. The man enjoyed watching his customers. He liked to ‘study’ them and when he spoke with some of the customers, he liked to analyse them. It was an old habit that he couldn’t get rid of. 

The man stood from his seat and took off his glasses, placing it in his shirt pocket before turning off the lamplight. He grabbed the two dolls and went out of the room to the store which was in a room right in front of his back store workshop, to place the dolls on the ‘New Dolls’ shelf. He then went back into his small, dark workshop and made his way to the corner of the room. He didn’t need light to find his way, he’s been through this countless times. The corner of the room was the coolest part of the room as light never reaches it due to the positions of the windows. The man reached for the object which was on the table and touched it, feeling the cool glass jar in his hands. He moved his hands across a label and in his mind, he can see what it says. 

“My beloved, Will Graham” 

The man closes his eyes and goes back 5 years ago to the day where his organised and well-maintained life, broke.

_Will Graham walked through the halls slowly, his gun pointed in front of him, his hair wet from the rain. His footsteps were the only noise he could hear until he heard the small muffled cries from his side. He quickly turned to see Abigail Hobbs, who was supposed to be dead. Will slowly lowered his gun, feeling a sense of confusion and distress._

_“Abigail..” Abigail swallowed her cries to try to explain to Will about the situation._

_“I didn’t know what else to do so...I just did what he told me.”_

_“Where is he?” He asked, straining his voice while he did. He watched Abigail’s eyes as it flinched to his side and back to him. His heart dropped as he heard the familiar footsteps of his psychiatrist.  
“You were supposed..to leave.” Will whispered as he turned around slowly to face him. Hannibal Lecter. His white shirt was painted with red and Will didn’t want to know whose blood it was, but he had a feeling it belonged to his boss. His hair was a mess and his face had splotches of blood. It was a sight that Will wasn’t used to. Nor was it a sight that he thought he would see today. _

_“We couldn’t leave without you.” He simply replied as his eyes bored into Will’s. They stared into each other’s eyes in silence, endless thoughts running through Will’s head while Hannibal’s mind was calm and collected despite what had happened before. He knew what he had to do and he took a deep breath and raised his hand slowly towards Will’s cheek. The linoleum knife in Hannibal’s right hand shone in the light as he brought it up close to Will’s abdomen, stabbing him without hesitation. Will groaned as he began to tremble. Hannibal only made it worse by sliding it across, deepening the wound with almost surgical precision. Will’s hands made their way to Hannibal’s body to find support to stand in which Hannibal placed a hand on the back of Will’s head to lean it on his shoulder. As Will began to slip, Hannibal only held him closer, hugging him and stroking his hair._

_“Time did reverse, the teacup that I shattered did come together.” Will’s breath shuddered as Hannibal spoke, finding it hard to endure the pain especially as it came from Hannibal. He knew he deserved it. He knew this was all his fault. It was his fault that he enraged the monster._

_“The place was made for Abigail and your world. Do you understand?” Will shook his head as he groaned, grinding his teeth together in pain while he heard Hannibal shushing him quietly. Hannibal made eye contact with Abigail and knew that this was not the time to get second thoughts. He slowly let go of Will, watching as he literally slipped through his fingers and onto the floor. Will leaned against the wall, trying to cover the blood seeping through his wound, gasping and panting. Hannibal watched, disappointed but not surprised that his relationship with Will would end in blood. He didn’t feel regretful, Will got what he deserved. He instead felt a sense of rage boiling in him once again._

_“I let you know me, see me. I gave you a rare gift. But you didn’t want it.” Will muffled a small ‘didn’t I?’ in confusion but Hannibal ignored him and went on._

_‘You would deny me my life.” Will shook his head, struggling to speak._

_“No- no- not your life. No-” Hannibal raised his voice as he cocked his head to the side._

_“My freedom then, you would take that from me,” Will closed his eyes and tried to steady his breathing, “Confine me to a basement cell.” Hannibal turned to look at Abigail, her eyes screaming fear as she realised what was going to happen next. She knew she wasn’t going to make it out this time. Everyone she knew who was on her side was either now dead, or lying on the floor of Hannibal’s kitchen, grasping onto whatever was left of their life, an example would be Will.  
“Do you believe you could change me the way I’ve changed you?” Hannibal asked. _

_“I already did,” Will answered confidently, taking in as much oxygen as he could and trying his best to calm down so he wouldn’t die of shock. Hannibal stared at Will and thought about his statement, realising that Will wasn’t wrong. Hannibal had changed and he knew it and it was all because of Will Graham. The anger that boiled in him cooled down as he felt a small ache in his heart. Sadness._

_“Fate and circumstance have returned us to this moment. When the teacup shatters.” The two stare at each other for a moment and Will wishes he would have thought this out properly. If only he had thought about the consequences of betraying Hannibal. If only he realised the mistake sooner. But all was too late. It was the end now._

_“I forgive you, Will. Will you forgive me?” The terror in Will’s eyes was all Hannibal needed to know that what Hannibal was about to do was something he couldn’t atone for._

_“Oh- no don’t. Don’t.” Will whimpered. However, there was no point and Will could sense that. It just gave him hope that maybe his words could reach Hannibal._

_“Abigail. Come to me.” Hannibal reached his hands out to Abigail knew her death was inevitable. It was what she had expected but she still couldn’t control her fear of dying. She took Hannibal’s hand as Hannibal directed her in front of him, Will endlessly whispering Hannibal to stop._

_Hannibal brought the linoleum knife to Abigail’s neck and traced the exact same spot her father had once sliced it open. He made a clean cut as Abigail’s breath hitched and automatically raised her hand towards her neck. Will began to cry as Abigail’s blood sprayed him and when her body was dropped to the ground, he crawled towards her, holding his own wound as he did. Abigail tried to stop the bleeding herself but it was no use as her blood was sweeping through her fingers. Before Will could reach her, Hannibal stopped him and laid him down on his back. He put a hand on Will’s wet hair and stroked it softly._

_“You can make it all go away,” Hannibal placed the linoleum knife under Will’s ribcage and tore through the elastic skin. His other hand was still giving Will soft strokes on his hair. “Put your head back,” he then tore into Will’s diaphragm preventing Will from making further noises, instead, his eyes spoke for him. “Close your eyes,” Will managed to bring one of his hands to Hannibal’s arm, a tear dropped from his eye. “Wade into the quiet of the stream.” Hannibal put his hand through the hole he made and went between Will’s shuddering lungs which were in shock, not in fear. His hand finally reached what he was aiming for. His heart. Will tried once more to beg for his mercy by trying his best to tighten his grip on Hannibal’s arm before Hannibal had torn it out. Will’s hot blood was coated on Hannibal’s arm, elbow down as Will’s beady eyes lost its life. It stared deep into Hannibal’s as he inhaled and exhaled through his nose. Will Graham was dead._

_Hannibal set Will’s still warm heart aside as he leaned down to Will’s face and kissed him. A soft sweet departure kiss before taking the heart and putting it in a jar. He was going to professionally preserve his heart instead of eating it. A reminder that Will Graham was the first person to ever get so close to him. He took one last glance at his kitchen and the mess he made before leaving to his room where he had already packed his belongings before hell broke loose. He placed Will’s heart into his valise and shut it tight before exiting his house. As he walked past Alana, he brought the hand that was coated in Will’s blood and licked it. The iron taste lingered in his mouth as he disappeared into the darkness. ___

__Hannibal opened his eyes and sighed, suddenly thinking of an idea. He took the jar back to his work desk and turned on his lamp, taking out all the equipment and material she needed to make another doll. It was a slow process but Hannibal felt it be worth his time. It was- after all- a doll to remember his Will. His dear Will. Hannibal stroked the curls of the doll as if he was stroking Will’s actual curls. The doll wore a red and white plaid shirt and a forest green American eagle jacket._ _

__Something that Will would wear. _Hannibal thought as he cut open a small hole in the left chest of the doll. He unscrewed the tightly shut jar and placed the cold heart on a scalpel board he had. He brought out the scalpel and cut a small piece of the heart and placed it in the hole in replace of the stuffing he temporarily took out. When he was satisfied, he placed the stuffing over the heart and stitched the hole shut. The left part of the doll was wet but Hannibal didn’t mind. He held the small doll in his hands before making up his mind that he should get home. Making the Will doll messed up his routine but oddly enough, Hannibal once again didn’t give much thought to it. If it was about Will Graham, time is never wasted._ _ _

__

__He placed the doll in a sitting position against the lamp before turning the light off and finally exiting his back store workshop and locking it. He looked around his store, examining the place to see if his dolls were ready for presentation for the next day. The answer was obvious, of course, the store was ready for presentation. When was it never? Hannibal left his store, not forgetting to lock it and made his journey back home. He had to be well rested so that he could wake up early tomorrow like he usually does. He didn’t need an alarm anymore as his body was used to waking up the same time every day. As he got into his black Bentley Azure T, little did he know that the next day, a surprise was waiting for him._ _

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY, THAT WAS HORRIBLE I WANT TO CRY NOW- I PROMISE IT'LL GET BETTER.
> 
> Also, I want to be able to update this every once a week but I can't promise you that because I am a sad whale that gets writer's block every 10 seconds. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this and I'll try to get better at writing :"D


	2. The Doll

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannibal meets his creation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You get to see some cute Hannigram shit here :D

Hannibal stirred in his bed as his body forced himself to wake up. Another day of selling handmade dolls. It wasn’t that he didn’t like it. He enjoyed the peace and concentration of making the dolls. He enjoyed following rude customers home and taking their life away. Unfortunately, he couldn’t present them theatrically like he would use to. He wished that he was with Will so he could show Will the loveliness of Tuscany. Unfortunately, Will was dead. He had killed him. Hannibal sat up in his bed and began his morning routine. Wash up, get dressed, make breakfast and coffee and leave the house to his store. He wore a brown suit blazer over his white shirt, his black tie neatly in position. Once he arrived at his store, he checked the time on his watch, 6:30 am, right on time. 

As he approached the door of his store, he noticed something unusual. He looked through the windows of his store and found some of his dolls scattered on the floor. In an instant, Hannibal unlocked the door and opened it closing the door behind him. _A robbery? _Hannibal thought. He picked up the dolls and placed them back on their shelves where they belong. He was going to go check the cashier when he saw the door of his workshop unhinged. His heart dropped as he remembered his Will doll. Who in the right mind would break into his store? Hannibal pushed past the unhinged door and turned on the lights. His organised workshop was now a mess which enraged Hannibal even more.__

____

__Hannibal went to his desk to find his Will doll but found it had disappeared. Gone. In blind rage, he slammed his fists onto the table, trying to calm himself down by taking deep breaths. As he was doing so, he heard something fall from behind him and then what sounded like a gasp. His head snapped to the sound of the noise and was stunned to see what he saw._ _

__“Will?” For the first time, Hannibal heard his voice shake. If he saw Will, that meant that Hannibal was going insane. The guilt and emptiness of not having Will around got to him. Or so he thought._ _

__“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you were going to get angry. I just felt trapped in this room and I wanted to go out but I accidentally, broke the door and the dolls were just- oh god I’m so sorry.” Hannibal frowned. Something about Will wasn’t right. And something about this ‘hallucination’ didn’t seem right either. What part of Hannibal’s mind was frightened and a coward?_ _

__Hannibal stepped closer to Will as Will started to back away until he hit the wall._ _

__“I’m so sorry, please don’t hurt me.”_ _

__“Will.” Hannibal tried again._ _

__“Will? Is that- is that my name?” Hannibal nodded slightly, confused. An emotion he wasn’t used to._ _

__“I’m sorry. I don't know who I am or what I’m doing here. I just- could you touch my hair?” Hannibal frowned in confusion._ _

__“Sorry?”_ _

__“Could you please touch my hair? Maybe stroke it? I want to see something.” Despite the unusual request, Hannibal closed the gap between the two of them and reached out his hand towards Will’s hair. It reminded him of the time he last stroked his hair. The time when Will’s hair was drenched with the rain and later the blood of his surrogate daughter._ _

__The touch of Will’s hair was exactly like he thought it would be if it wasn’t wet. Soft, warm and comforting. He noticed Will leaning into the touch which made Hannibal wrap his other arm around Will’s waist and pull him into an embrace._ _

__“Oh--”_ _

__Hannibal continued to caress Will’s hair, inhaling the oh so familiar scent that he thought he would never smell again._ _

__“You’re the man who made me, right?” Hannibal stopped caressing his hair once he heard those words, and pulled away, looking into Will’s eyes and wasn’t surprised when Will’s eyes focused on something else. Avoiding eye contact…_ _

__“I’m sorry, I-- I don’t feel comfortable looking into your eyes.”_ _

__“That’s alright, Will. What did you mean about me making you?”_ _

__“I think I was a doll. That could explain um..your missing doll. That’s what you were looking for right?” Hannibal studied Will and recognised that his clothing was oddly similar to the one he gave for the doll. Just like Will had said._ _

__“Why don’t you come home with me. We’ll discuss this later.” Will nodded. Hannibal started to walk past the door and expected Will to be gone when he turned around. However, Will was right behind him. Still there. _This isn’t possible___

____

____“Is something wrong?” Will asked when he noticed Hannibal staring at him intensely. He didn’t notice Hannibal’s hand going to the back of his pocket to grab his pocket knife. He noticed it too late when Hannibal pierced it in Will’s left shoulder. Will gasped at the sudden movement but showed no sign of pain. Hannibal let go of the pocket knife so it stayed speared into Will’s left shoulder. He touched his hallucination, he stabbed his hallucination and yet it stayed._ _ _ _

____Will grabbed the pocket knife and pulled it out of his shoulder slowly, creasing his eyebrows._ _ _ _

____“Why did you do that?” He asked as he handed the knife back to Hannibal. Hannibal looked at the blood which was clean. There was no blood on the knife nor was there any blood seeping out of Will’s shoulder._ _ _ _

____“My apologies, Will. Are you okay?”_ _ _ _

____“Was I supposed to feel something?” Hannibal cocked his head to the side slightly, once again overwhelmed by an emotion he was not used to feeling. Confusion. He brushed the hole in Will’s shoulder looking up at Will, searching for some sort of reaction. But all he got was a blank expression from Will. Will was just as confused as Hannibal was. But for different reasons._ _ _ _

____“Um..--”_ _ _ _

____“Lecter. Hannibal Lecter.”_ _ _ _

____“Hannibal?...Um, could we go home? Or is this my home?” Hannibal shook his head._ _ _ _

____“Of course not, follow me.” Hannibal left the store and waited for Will to come out. Will’s eyes widen as he took in his surroundings._ _ _ _

____“This..is amazing,” Will breathed. “Where are we?”_ _ _ _

____“Tuscany, Italy.” Hannibal replied as he lead him to the car._ _ _ _

____“Mr Jakov! Good morning!” Someone exclaimed. Hannibal turned to his side to see the face of a regular customer. Anthony Dimmond. It wasn’t every day that Anthony would come in to buy a doll. He would come in to chat with Hannibal and Hannibal could tell what his intentions were, but ignored it. Mostly because his features resembled his dear Will too much._ _ _ _

____“Jakov?” Will mumbled._ _ _ _

____“Good morning, Mr Dimmond.”_ _ _ _

____“Please, Anthony.”_ _ _ _

____“Anthony.” Anthony looked to Hannibal’s side and made eye contact with Will. Hannibal nervously looked at Anthony, wondering if he could see Will. This could be the confirmation he was looking for._ _ _ _

____“And who is this confused looking man here?” Anthony asked, referring to Will._ _ _ _

____“My name is-”_ _ _ _

____“Repetto. Evaristo Repetto.” Hannibal answered for him. Will was about to rebuttal but luckily Anthony began to speak._ _ _ _

____“Ah. Nice to meet you, Mr. Repetto.” He reached a hand to Will to shake his hand in which Will just stared at it. Anthony awkwardly let his hand drop._ _ _ _

____“I apologise. Evaristo isn’t fond of physical contact.” Anthony shook his head._ _ _ _

____‘Understandable. Where are you going today? The store isn’t open?” He asked instead._ _ _ _

____“Unfortunately, no. I’ve received an unexpected business that I must tend today. The store will open tomorrow.”_ _ _ _

____“Ah, I see. And is Evaristo here to help you with this business?” Hannibal nodded._ _ _ _

____“Then I best let you get on your way Mr Jakov. It was a pleasure to see you.”  
“Likewise.” Anthony smiled before walking away, leaving Hannibal and Will alone again. _ _ _ _

____“Jakov? Evaristo Repetto? That’s not what you told me your name was. And- and I thought my name was Will.”_ _ _ _

____“I’m sorry, Will. I didn’t mean to confuse you. Here, people call me Boris Jakov. It’s easier if they call me that way. I only meant well.” Will nodded slowly._ _ _ _

____“What is my name then?”_ _ _ _

____“As you know, your name is Will. Will Graham.”_ _ _ _

____“Will Graham..” Will whispered to himself. Hannibal smiled._ _ _ _

____“Yes. Now let’s get you home.”_ _ _ _

____Hannibal opened the passenger door for Will as he got into the car. When Hannibal got into the driver's seat he turned to look at Will who was running his fingers across the material. It was a sight that made his heart feel warm._ _ _ _

____“Put your seatbelt on, Will.”_ _ _ _

____“Seatbelt?” Hannibal reached across him to reach for his seatbelt. He could feel Will breathing on his neck as he stretched the seatbelt and clicked it in place._ _ _ _

____“Oh--.” Hannibal felt his cheekbones hurting from smiling too much. It’s been too long since he’s genuinely smiled and it was all because of Will Graham._ _ _ _

____Hannibal started the engine as he began to drive back home. And this time. He wasn’t alone. Beethoven’s “Sonata "Pathétique” II Adagio Cantabile played through the ride as Will dozed off halfway. Hannibal couldn’t remember the last time he had seen Will look so calm and peaceful. He just wanted to hold him but he didn’t want to startle the boy. He was back to being the fragile teacup._ _ _ _

____Once they arrived, Hannibal couldn’t bring himself to wake up Will, so instead, he took off Will’s seatbelt and carried him out bridal style and into the house. He placed Will down on one of his couches and found a blanket to put over him. Hannibal then went upstairs into his room to dress into some comfortable clothing before coming downstairs to make some breakfast for Will._ _ _ _

____Obviously, there was something wrong with Will. Will didn’t bleed nor did he feel pain. He didn’t know what a handshake was and what a seatbelt was. He still seemed to have the same habits such as avoiding eye contact. Everything about this was confusing and for a moment, Hannibal thought that maybe this was all a dream.  
Hannibal began to make scrambled eggs along with sausages when he heard muffled noises from the living room. _Will. _He stopped what he was doing and went back into the living room to find Will sitting up on the couch and rubbing his eyes.______

____

____

______“Hello, Hannibal.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Hello, Will.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Where are we?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“My home. And now, yours as well.” Will stumbled up and stretched._ _ _ _ _ _

______“It’s a nice place. It’s bigger than the other room. And lighter. I like it,” He said as he looked around the place. “The other room was too dark and I didn’t like it,” Will looked at Hannibal and smiled. “What were you doing?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Making breakfast, for you.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Breakfast?” Hannibal nodded._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Yes, breakfast. You should be hungry.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“If the small pain in my stomach means that I’m ‘hungry’ then yes, I am hungry.” Hannibal grinned._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Follow me.” Will followed Hannibal into his kitchen and sat down on the stool near the kitchen counter._ _ _ _ _ _

______“What are you making?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Scrambled eggs with sausages.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______‘See...I don’t understand all these things.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“I’ve noticed.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“I know what a doll is.” Hannibal hummed in response as he resumed his cooking._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Why don’t I know anything?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to that either.” Hannibal cracked open the egg into a bowl and began stirring._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I know what a stag is.” Hannibal’s stirring slowed as he looked up at Will._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Do you? And how would you know that?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“I think the stag was the one who brought me to life. It just sort of,” Will grabbed Hannibal’s hand and spread it open as if he was going to high-five him. Instead, Will nudged his palm with his head. “Did that. And everything went white and I was sitting on the table, all big and...meaty?” Hannibal raised an eyebrow._ _ _ _ _ _

______“That’s interesting.” He replied. Will nodded in agreement as Hannibal went to his stove to pour the egg into the pan._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Does this mean I’m a human now?” Hannibal remembered that Will didn’t bleed which was something humans were supposed to do._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I’m not so sure, Will.” He answered instead._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I’m...hungry, Hannibal.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“It’s nearly finished.” Hannibal began scrambling the eggs and added the sausages in before waiting a while and then pouring it on a plate for Will._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Thank you, Hannibal.” Will began to eat slowly at first but began to scoff the rest down._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Eat slower, Will. You won’t be able to digest it all.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Would it be easier for you if I never question some of the words you say?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“I would prefer you ask me questions. I wouldn’t want you to not understand me.” Will nodded._ _ _ _ _ _

______“How about I let you read some book after you eat. Reading books help with learning a language.” Will shifted uncomfortably but whispered a small ‘okay’._ _ _ _ _ _

______After Will had finished his breakfast, it was around 7:00 am. Hannibal led him to his library and picked out some of the easier books he had along with a dictionary._ _ _ _ _ _

______“That’s a lot of...books.” Will mumbled and gazed at all the books._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I do love to read.” Hannibal handed him the books to Will who just stared at them. He sat down on a couch and opened to the first page. Hannibal noticed that Will’s eyes weren’t reading, they were more staring._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Is something the matter, Will?” Will looked up from the book to meet Hannibal’s eyes._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I..I can’t read.”_ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, look at this. A second chapter already. Where did this sad whale get their motivation from?


	3. Jorinda and Jorindel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will reads a book, has lunch and a hallucination :)

“Here, these books will be much easier to read. They belonged to my younger sister.” Will studied the various books in front of him, one, in particular, caught his eyes.

“Where is she?” Will asked, referring to his sister. 

“She’s…,” Hannibal trailed off, not knowing how to explain death if Will didn’t know what it was. Nevertheless, he tried anyway. “She’s dead.” 

“Dead…” Will repeated. Hannibal nodded. 

“Her name was Mischa.” 

“That’s a pretty name.” 

“It is,” Will became silent for a while as if he was processing the information or just thinking. “Are you okay, Will?” Hannibal finally asked. Will blinked several times and looked up at Hannibal. 

“Yes--Yes, I’m okay. Sorry.” 

“There’s no need to be sorry. Now, is there a particular book you would like to read?” Will nodded and pointed to the Grimm’s Fairy Tale. Hannibal grinned at Will’s book choice and gave it to him as he sat down next to him. Will took the book from Hannibal’s hand and opened to the first page. 

“How much can you read?” Hannibal asked.

“Bits and pieces…” 

“Can you read the title?” 

“I-I don’t. I can’t-.” Will stuttered as his hands trembled a little. 

“It’s okay, Will. We will read it together.” Hannibal put one of his hands on Will’s back calming him down a bit. Will’s trembling stopped as he placed his index finger on the first word. ‘Grimm’s’ 

“Gr..eems?” Will looked at Hannibal after he had said the word, looking for an approval or a correction. Hannibal smiled.

“Grimm’s.” He corrected. Will repeated the word and he himself smiled when he got it right. He pointed to the next word and tried to pronounce it. 

“Fa..ee..ri? Oh! Fairy! Then is the next word tales?” Hannibal nodded. 

“You are correct. Do you want to say it all together?” 

“Grimm’s Fairy Tales. I like fairy tales.” 

“Do you?” 

“Yes. The stag told me some stories before you came.” 

“The stag told you a lot of things in such a short period of time.” 

“They weren't useful though. Like how it didn’t tell me my name or what I’m doing here.” Will turned the page to the first chapter. 

_Jorinda and Jorindel_

____

\----------

“...and he took Jorinda home, where they were ma..ried-”

“Married.” Will chuckled as he pressed against Hannibal’s body. The story was almost ending and throughout the story, Will decided to get comfortable by leaning on Hannibal so he was between his legs. They were technically spooning except they were lying on their backs.

“Yes, my bad,” Will said as he continued to read. “Ah..where was I?” Hannibal pointed to the sentence he was reading. “Oh yes, thanks, Hannibal. Married, and lived happily together many ears-”

“Years.”

“Ears are these things right?” Will asked as he reached back to touch Hannibal’s ears which made Hannibal smile.

“Yes, Will.”

“Sorry, I keep losing where I was…”

“I think that’s enough for the day.” Hannibal glanced at his watch. It took Will some time to read this one chapter since he couldn’t pronounce some of the words or didn’t know them so he had to search for the word in the dictionary. It was nearly lunch and Hannibal decided that he wanted to take Will out shopping for new clothes after they ate.

“Did I do well?” Will asked. Hannibal grabbed the book out of Will’s hands and set it down before bringing his arms to Will’s body to embrace him.

“You did more than well, you were amazing, Will.” Hannibal couldn’t see but Will smiled at the compliment.

“Thank you, Hannibal. It was all thanks to you though.”

“It was my pleasure.” Hannibal gave a tight squeeze before sitting up with Will.

“I liked that story. Can we read it every day?”

“When we get the chance to, of course. Are you hungry, Will?”

“Yes. I think I am.” Hannibal let go of Will so that he could stand up. Will stretched and held out a hand to Hannibal in which Hannibal gladly took it and stood up with him.

“I’m going to cook lunch for us both, would you like to watch?” Will shook his head.

“I want to explore the house a bit. Is that okay?”

“Of course, Will. Explore as much as you want.” Hannibal gave Will one last hug before going into the kitchen, leaving Will to do whatever he desired.

Once Hannibal left, Will picked up his now favourite book and carried it around with him as he went into different rooms. He went out of the library and went upstairs to where all the bedrooms and Hannibal’s study room was. He first went into Hannibal’s bedroom and set the book down on the bed. He ran his fingers across the soft blanket, feeling his fingers sinking into the material. The bed was spacious and Will liked the colour of it. He touched the pillows and was amazed at how fluffy it was. He wondered where his bedroom was so he grabbed his book and left the room, closing the door behind him.

The room Will went into wasn’t what he expected. It was Hannibal’s study room. When Will turned on the lights, he saw more books and a desk. Curiously, he went towards the desk and saw something he wasn’t used to seeing. It was a laptop but to Will’s mind, it was a rectangle that glowed.

Will sat down on the chair, placing his book close to the laptop and touched the keyboard and was fascinated at how the screen moved. There was no passcode on the laptop as it wasn’t Hannibal’s most important device. When the laptop unlocked, the first thing Will saw was the Tattlecrime website.

“Tat..lay..cry...me..? What is this…” Will clicked on the page, opening articles he couldn’t yet read. He did recognise his name in one of the articles and found a picture of him. He was curious but without Hannibal’s help, he couldn’t read properly, nor could he understand half the words written on the screen. He was too invested in the glowing device that he didn’t hear the footsteps of Hannibal. The laptop shut close which made Will jump. He looked up to see Hannibal who was trying to keep his composure.

“Will. Do not open this laptop again.” Will winced at the sudden raise of Hannibal’s voice.

“I’m sorry, it just...I didn’t read anything if you were worried about that. I could only read my name.”

“It’s alright Will, lunch is ready,” Hannibal said as he held out his hand for Will. Will hesitantly grabbed it as Hannibal led him back to the dining room. Will sat down on the chair opposite of Hannibal.

“Celeriac velouté with chive cream and crispy pancetta,” Hannibal said as he served the dish.

“I- I got half of that.” Hannibal chuckled as he spooned some of the velouté into his mouth. Will started to eat as soon as Hannibal ate.

“Oh wow, this is great!” Will exclaimed as he continued to eat.

Hannibal stopped eating for a while as he watched Will enjoying his meal. It was definitely an unusual sight. He was so used to eating alone and having someone in front of him, especially a person who he had killed 5 years ago was something he needed to adjust to. Although the Will in front of him acted significantly different to the Will he used to know. Will was just too pure and Hannibal thought of the pleasure of corrupting his mind. The satisfaction of watching Will’s mind twist into something he always wanted. But then he remembered how that turned out. Betrayal and death. Maybe it would be the other way around. Will might be the one who kills Hannibal and of course, Hannibal wouldn’t mind. If all does not go as plan, he would encourage Will to kill him hoping it would bring out Will’s true dark self. Although it would be a shame not to see what happens next since he would be dead. Hannibal knew that he wouldn’t bring himself to kill Will again. He knows not to repeat his mistake just because he failed to control his temper last time. For the first few years after Will’s death, Hannibal was coping alright. He was too busy moving and creating a new person suit to even think about Will. However, the emptiness of having no one that understood him crept into his heart and so did the regret. If only he hadn’t been so greedy at the time to take Will’s heart and leave with it. Throughout Hannibal’s whole journey of moving into Tuscany, Will’s heart remained in Hannibal’s valise until Hannibal thought it was time to get it out in which he placed in the backroom of his store. Every day he would glance at Will’s heart, wishing for a chance to see him again. And then his wish came true. Hannibal realised that maybe when he slept and woke up the next day, Will would be gone. That this was all a dream. A dream that felt so real. If this was a dream then Hannibal wished he never woke up.

“Hannibal?” The sound of Will’s voice snapped Hannibal out of his thoughts. He looked at Will who was nearly finished eating.

“Are you okay?” Will asked as they made eye contact. Will’s eyes didn’t shift or look away. He was comfortable with Hannibal now.

“Yes, Will. I apologise if I made you worried.”

“It’s alright. Are you sure you’re okay?” Hannibal nodded as he resumed eating.

“What are we going to do after we eat?”

“I was thinking of getting you some new clothes. You can’t wear those forever.” He suggested to which Will nodded.

“I think I’d like that actually. Sleeping in this was uncomfortable.”

“Then shopping it is.” Hannibal finished his lunch and cleaned up with Will’s help. He was doing the dishes as Will dried them. Hannibal wondered whether or not he was to dress Will up as he desired. He never favoured Will’s fashion choice but a part of him wants Will to wear the clothes he used to wear. Maybe this Will will have better fashion taste.

Hannibal finished washing the dishes and helped Will dry them off before asking Will to wait in the living room so he could go change. Will waited on the couch, looking down at his feet and then fiddling with his fingers. He heard a noise and assumed it was Hannibal but was surprised to see the stag that brought him to life.

“Oh--uh hi...I- thank you for giving me life. It’s really amazing here and the person who created me is very nice. I like him.” The stag stared into Will’s eyes as if it was telepathically telling Will something.

“Yes, I know my name is Will Graham. You were a little bit too late.” The stag approached Will and for an unknown reason, Will felt fear. He tried to back away and press his back as far as he could against the couch but he was trapped. His breathing became faster as he shielded himself with his arms. He could feel the breathing of the stag as it nudged it’s head to Will’s left chest. His heart.

“Please don’t hurt me…” Will whimpered. Suddenly the heat of the stag’s breath disappeared and was replaced by a large hand on his arm.

“Will. Are you okay?”

“Hannibal-” Will sighed. He hugged him before Hannibal could say anything. His warmth gave peace to Will as he hugged him tighter, trying to forget what just happened.

“What happened, Will?” Will didn’t answer, nor did he want to. He felt he was already enough burden for Hannibal and telling him about what happened would burden him even more.

“Nothing..I just. I don’t know.” Hannibal frowned and pulled away from the hug and tried to look into Will’s frantic eyes.

“I know when you’re lying to me, Will.”

“I...I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t even remember it now that I think about it.” Hannibal decided to respect Will’s decision placed a hand on Will’s hair, caressing it slowly.

“I understand, Will. But if you want to talk about it, I’m always here for you and I will never judge you.” Will nodded, finally being able to look Hannibal into his eyes.

“Now, why don’t we distract ourselves and go look for some new clothing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God I'm losing motivation and it's only the third chapter :D 
> 
> Anyways, thank you to those who left kudos, comments etc :D it really makes me happy seeing them so thank you again!


	4. Suit Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannibal and Will go shopping! And then goes to a tailor so Hannibal can buy Will a suit.

Hannibal took Will to a mall he used to frequent. It wasn’t too far from his home and the ride there was quite enjoyable. Will was constantly asking questions and pointing to random buildings asking what they were while Hannibal was calmly answering them. It wasn’t long before they arrived at their destination. They both got out of the car as Will followed Hannibal inside. 

Hannibal wanted to buy Will a suit but figured it would be pleasurable if that was the last thing they were going to buy. For now, he was trusting Will’s fashion sense. Which was a mistake. 

“I think I like this one. In fact, I think I have a thing for these kind of shirts,” Will mentioned as he looked at the plaid shirts. Hannibal sighed. 

“Is that so?” Will managed to find his style throughout the shopping journey and if Hannibal remembered correctly it almost looked identical to ‘dead’ Will’s drawers. The only part of Will’s fashion sense that Hannibal enjoyed was his sweaters and coats. It was at least decent and was something that Hannibal could cope with. They bought boxers, toiletries and an aftershave that Hannibal chose. He didn’t trust Will in picking one. He could stand his clothing but god, not that aftershave. 

“I think I’m done..,” Will said as he twirled the multiple bags. He frowned when Hannibal shook his head. 

“Not yet. There is one last place we have to go to but it’s not here. We will need to drive there and I assume it will be around…,” Hannibal checked his watch and smiled. “3 pm when we arrive.” Hannibal took the shopping bags from Will’s hands and carried them out, ignoring Will as he insisted on carrying them himself.  
Once they got to the car, Hannibal put the bags in the trunk and opened the door for Will. 

“I told you I would carry them myself.” 

“It was too much for you to carry, Will, and you knew it yourself.” Will huffed in defeat as he got into the car, waiting for Hannibal to sit in the driver’s seat. 

“You know, I’ve only been here for a few hours but I feel like I’ve been alive my whole life. It’s like something tells me that I was meant to be alive,” Will said as Hannibal sat down in his seat. 

“Maybe you were,” A hint of guilt rang through his voice and he was glad that Will was too busy staring out the window to notice. 

Will closed his eyes for a second before opening them again. He looked at Hannibal and choked down a scream. The man--thing in place of Hannibal was a black man, wearing Hannibal’s suit with stag antlers. Will looked away and attempted to regulate his breathing before looking back and was relieved to see Hannibal again. 

“You’re finally awake, Will,” Hannibal mentioned as he noticed Will looking at him. Will cocked his head. 

“Awake? I’ve always been awake…” 

“You were sleeping, Will. We’re already here.” Hannibal sensed something wrong but he wanted to wait for Will to come to him first. He put a hand on Will’s cheek and looked him in the eyes. 

“Will, are you feeling alright? We can go home for the day and you can rest.” Will shook his head. 

“No, I’m fine. Where are we?” He asked, changing the topic. 

“A tailor shop. I wanted to buy you a suit.” 

“Why would I need a suit?” 

“For my aesthetic pleasure.”

“Aest- what?” Hannibal chuckled.

“It’s a word used to describe something that gives you pleasure from beauty,” Hannibal explained as he got out of the car, leaving Will alone for a second. When he opened the door for Will, Will looked up at Hannibal. 

“How about that for the word of the day?” 

“Word of the day? Is that like having a word I don’t know every day?” 

“I guess you could say that,” Hannibal reached towards Will’s seatbelt and unclicked it for him.

“Come on, Will.” Will got out of the car and followed Hannibal, walking right beside him. He gazed at the mannequins wearing the suits through the window before looking back at Hannibal amazed at how charming he looked. _No one can pull off a suit like Hannibal Lecter _he decided.__

__“Ah! Mr Jakov! It’s nice to see you again!” The lady at the counter moved to give Hannibal a hug. She looked around 50 but her smile was brighter than ever. Hannibal didn’t mind the hug. He was quite fond of his tailor as she shared many interests with him._ _

__“Likewise, Miss Massuccii. I’m here to get my dear friend here a suit.”_ _

__“Oh! I never knew you had such a dazzling friend. Mariella Massucii.” She said as she extended a hand out to Will for a handshake. Hannibal was about to tell her that Will didn’t like physical contact to save the embarrassment but was shocked to see Will grab her hand and shake it._ _

__“Wi--Evaristo Repetto.”_ _

__“You don’t sound like you’re from here?”_ _

__“He stayed here when he was a child before moving to America,” Hannibal explained._ _

__“Ah, America. I’ve always wanted to go but my body doesn’t want to.” She said as she jiggled her arms in front of them. Will smiled._ _

__“Now, the suit. I’m assuming you would like this to be custom made?” Hannibal nodded._ _

__“Well come on, Mr Repetto. Let’s measure your size, unless you want to do it Mr Jakov.” She suggested, giving Hannibal a wink. Hannibal gave her a smirk before nodding._ _

__“I’ll just go look for some suits that would _suit _your friend.” Mariella chuckled to herself over her own pun before leaving Hannibal to measure Will.___ _

____“Stand on that platform, Will.” Will obeyed and stepped on the platform as he watched Hannibal get a measuring tape._ _ _ _

____“Why did she leave you to do the measuring?” Will asked as Hannibal started measuring him. He started with the neck, wrapping the measuring tape around it to get the size and noting it down on a notepad that Mariella gave him._ _ _ _

____“Because I enjoy being close to you,” He simply answered as he moved down to his chest. “Lift up your arms, Will.” Will lifted both his arms so that Hannibal could wrap the measuring tape under his armpit._ _ _ _

____“Why?”_ _ _ _

____“You can put your arms down. Bend your elbow and place it on your hip for me” Will frowned, upset that he didn’t get an answer as Hannibal placed the measuring tape on his shoulder and rolled it down to his wrist, following the angle of his arm._ _ _ _

____“You didn’t answer my question.”_ _ _ _

____“You can put down your arm now.” Hannibal then went onto measuring his waist. _I need to feed him more _He thought.___ _ _ _

______“You’re ignoring me..” Will said as he watched Hannibal note down his measurements._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I am not ignoring you, Will. Stand with your feet apart a bit.” Hannibal crouched a bit to measure Will’s hips. He looked up at Will who was still frowning. Hannibal couldn’t help but smile._ _ _ _ _ _

______“You’re ignoring my question.” Will said, finally figuring it out._ _ _ _ _ _

______“You’re a smart boy, Will.” Finally, he measured Will’s legs, starting from the crotch area to his ankles. He noted down the final measurements as he got back up and looked at Will who was now sulking. He wrapped the measuring tape around Will’s neck and pulled him closer. Their faces were inches apart and Will could feel Hannibal breathing. Hannibal smiled at Will’s shocked expression as he placed a kiss on Will’s forehead, releasing Will from the grip._ _ _ _ _ _

______“What was that?” Will asked._ _ _ _ _ _

______“A kiss. On the forehead.” Will creased his eyebrows._ _ _ _ _ _

______“That felt nice.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“I’m glad it did.” Right on time, Mariella came in with different suits. A clean simple navy one, a grey one and a black three-piece suit. Hannibal knew that the three-piece was not Will’s style. It was more his than it was Will’s. The dark navy one caught his eye and it looked like it caught Will’s as well._ _ _ _ _ _

______“So, boys. Which one would you like to try on first? I personally prefer this one,” She explained as she held up the navy suit. “But the choice is entirely up to you.” Hannibal was glad that she too found the suit fitting for Will._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I agree, Miss Massuccii. Will, would you like to try this on?” Will nodded as he grabbed the suit from Mariella’s hands._ _ _ _ _ _

______“The change rooms are over there.” Will walked to the change rooms with Hannibal behind him. Hannibal sat down in a chair and watched Will walk in. He waited for a while. A minute passed and then another until Mariella came to Hannibal and asked if Will was alright._ _ _ _ _ _

______“You should check on him, Mr Jakov. He’s taking some time.” She said worryingly._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I should.” Hannibal went to the door and knocked._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Evaristo. Are you alright?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Han-Boris? I..I need your help.” The sound of the door unlocking was an invitation for Hannibal. He opened the door to find Will still dressed, fumbling with his buttons._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I can’t undo this button,” Will said as. He fiddled with it. Hannibal gave a small laugh. He thought Will had disappeared or turned into a doll. Luckily, that wasn’t the case._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Let me.” Hannibal unbuttoned Will’s shirt, one by one as Will slid out of it. Hannibal was surprised to see stitch marks on Will’s left chest, where is heart is  
meant to be. Will saw it as well as he pressed the area. _ _ _ _ _ _

______“What...what is this?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“I believe that’s where your heart is.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“But..why is it all stitched up? Like..like I’m still a doll--,” Hannibal waited for Will to have a moment of realisation but he himself realised that Will probably didn’t know what a heart was and he couldn’t have remembered the writing on the jar. More rooms for lies then._ _ _ _ _ _

______“The stag must’ve given you a heart and left you quite a scar.”’_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Oh. I can feel it beating.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“That's a good thing. Now should we get into that suit?” Hannibal helped Will get dressed while Will was still thinking about his heart. Was that why the stag nudged it? Something didn’t feel right but he couldn't grab onto it. He didn’t realise he was all dressed until Hannibal put his warm hands on his neck._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Will? Are you with me?” Will looked into Hannibal’s eyes, as if he was trying to search for answers in them._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Yes--Yes I am.” Hannibal turned Will around so he could look in the mirror. Will looked at himself. The suit complemented his skin and Hannibal thought of what tie would go well with it. It was more than a pleasure to see Will in a suit again. Especially when it’s not because he was going to court._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Do you like it?” Hannibal asked, looking at Will through the mirror._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I love it.” Hannibal unlocked the door and showed Will to Mariella._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Oh my, he looks just gorgeous.” She sighed as she took in Will’s image._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I think we’ll go with this one then. Thank you, Miss Massuccii. You’ve been a great help yet again.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Oh stop it. I’m only doing my job. You can come pick up his suit in about a few days. Your order is always at the top of my list. Don’t tell anyone.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“I’m glad to hear that,” Hannibal admitted as he looked at Will. “Do you need help getting changed again?” He asked. Will shook his head._ _ _ _ _ _

______“No-no I’ll be fine.” Will didn’t know where this unknown feeling to avoid Hannibal came from but he didn’t like it and he wanted it to go away. He went into the change room and surprisingly succeeded in getting dressed into his own clothes. It was way more comfortable than the suit._ _ _ _ _ _

______He got out to see Hannibal seated in a chair in front of the change room with his eyes closed._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Hannibal?” Hannibal’s eyes opened to Will’s voice and smiled when they made eye contact._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Let’s go home now, I’m guessing you are tired. You can go take another nap while I prepare for dinner. I’ll also have to show you to your room, now that I think about it…” Will managed to smile._ _ _ _ _ _

______“My own room. I would like that.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Then let’s go.” Hannibal paid and bid farewell to his favourite tailor before driving back home. He smelt uneasiness from Will but decided to ignore it, hoping that one day, Will would come to him. It’s what Hannibal had always wanted as it gave him the satisfaction._ _ _ _ _ _

______As soon as they got home, Hannibal showed Will to a guest room which was now going to be Will’s. They unpacked his clothing and toiletries before leaving Will to get dressed in something comfortable so he could take a nap. Will was left alone for the first time after being given life and he didn’t know he would find it this peaceful. He liked it._ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOO another chapter :D I wrote this chapter instead of doing my homework but I have no regrets-
> 
> The part where Hannibal kisses Will on the forehead was originally going to be
> 
> "What was that?" 
> 
> "Affection." 
> 
> "Ew...do it again." 
> 
> (Like that tumblr post) But I restrained myself from adding that. 
> 
> Thank you for the kudos, comments etc. They encourage me a lot and I hope you all have a good day, afternoon or night :D


	5. The Stag

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A puppy is introduced in this chapter and Will finally tells Hannibal about his hallucinations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS ISN'T EDITED AND I WROTE THIS AT 2AM SO I'M SORRY IF NOTHING MAKES SENSE-
> 
> eNjoY :D

Will woke up to the sound of a weird noise coming from the direction of his window. At first, he ignored it as he thought it was coming from the thousands of small water droplets, descending from the sky but it almost sounded like it was alive. 

He lifted himself off the bed and walked towards the windows, drawing the curtains back to look down. He could make out a small furry ball and decided to open his window and call for it. 

The rain poured into his room and Will himself was getting wet, but he didn’t pay much attention to it. He was too focused on what that thing was. His light grey shirt turned dark as the water soaked into it, his hair was flattening as it got hit by the tiny droplets. 

“Hello? Oh-,” The small furry ball looked up to the sound of the noise. _It was not human. _Will decided. It had four legs and its ears were drooped from all the rain and Will had the tingling sensation to go get it and bring it in.__

__“Hang in there, buddy. I’m going down to get you.” Will shut his windows as he dashed out of his room, ignoring Hannibal’s cry from the kitchen. He ran to the side of the house, the rain, blurring his vision a bit, and found the ball, all curled up._ _

__“Hey there, buddy. Come here.” Will said as he approached it slowly. The four-legged ball walked to Will and brushed its head against his legs before leaping into Will’s arms._ _

__“Oh--haha, you’re cute.” The two of them sat in the rain, Will scratching behind the ears of the thing. They stayed like that, the water pouring on Will only as Will hugged it so that it couldn’t get wet anymore. It wasn’t long before Will couldn’t feel the cold water droplets on him. He thought the rain had stopped but then looked up to see a black object covering him and then turned around to see Hannibal holding the black object with a stick._ _

__‘Will, what are you doing out here?” Hannibal asked. He then saw the animal in Will’s arms and sighed._ _

__“Is that a dog?”_ _

__“Is that what it’s called? A dog? I like it. Can I keep it?”_ _

__“Get up, Will. You’re all wet.”_ _

__“Not until you say yes. I want to keep this dog. Please?” Hannibal looked at Will, his hair was wet and it stuck to his face and Hannibal could make out Will’s body line because of his shirt._ _

__“Will.” Hannibal used his threatening tone, hoping that Will would listen to him. He didn’t really want a dog as he was afraid it would shed all over his furniture. Something that he didn’t want. He remembered visiting Will’s house for the first time. He had decided to look after Will’s dogs while Will was on a case. It wasn’t that he didn’t like dogs, he preferred not having one himself. Will’s house was reasonably neat and Hannibal was surprised to see a piano, he played the first few notes of The Rite of Spring before realising it was out of tune. Hannibal wanted to see Will play the piano one day, maybe this was the chance to. Before Hannibal could dig deeper into his memory, the sound of Will calling his name woke him up._ _

__“-annibal. Hannibal? Fine, I’ll just throw this dog here and leave it in the rain. I had a feeling you had a downside to your perfect personality. I didn’t know it was hating dogs... " Hannibal looked down at Will who was sulking and heaved him off the wet grass._ _

__“The dog is your responsibility. It’s time to go back inside, Will. I don’t want you catching a cold.” He took off his jacket and put it over Will’s shoulders to temporarily keep him warm._ _

__“Really? God, thank you Hannibal. I take back what I said, you’re still perfect.” The two went back into the house and Will placed the dog down on his couch. Hannibal winced as the fur wet the couch but the one thing he had in mind was to dry his own ‘dog’ and make sure he didn’t catch a cold. Will followed Hannibal upstairs into his own room where there was a separate bathroom for him. He watched as Hannibal bent down to turn on the taps of the bathtub, the sound of the water gushing out made him shiver and it was then he realised that his body felt cold._ _

__“Will, while I prepare the bathtub for you, I want you to take off your wet clothes and,” Hannibal pointed to the laundry basket near the bathroom sink. “Place them in there. I’ll make sure the water is ready by then.” Will nodded as he began to struggle to take off his clothes. It stuck onto his skin and he winced as he got caught in the process, his head was stuck._ _

__“Uh..Hannibal?” He heard the tap stop running and the sound of Hannibal’s footstep. He felt the warm hands of Hannibal as he was helped out of his tight situation._ _

__“Thank you.” Hannibal smiled as he pointed to the bathtub._ _

__“Once you’ve finished undressing, you can go in. I’ll be downstairs if you need me. When you’ve finished,” Hannibal grabbed a towel and showed it to him. “Use this to dry yourself and there should be clean, dry clothes on your bed. Wear them.” Will nodded as he continued to undress. He watched as Hannibal walked away._ _

__“You’re not staying?” He asked as he stopped midway of taking off his pyjama shorts._ _

__“I thought you would prefer some privacy,” Will remembered the peace of being alone and agreed._ _

__“Then I’ll see you soon.” The door closed and Will was alone again._ _

__He finished undressing and dipped his toes in first, feeling the warmth shivering up his body. He then dipped his whole leg in, then his whole body until he was entirely submerged into the bathtub, excluding his head. He leaned his head against the tub and sighed. The water felt like it was swallowing him. The silence around him made him close his eyes. He took a deep breath before slipping into the water. Feeling the heat of the water touch his face. Will was surprised that he was sinking. He didn’t remember the bathtub being this deep. But he didn’t mind. It was a new experience but it somehow felt familiar._ _

__Will sunk deeper and deeper until he reached what he thought was the bottom. His back thumped softly against the bottom as he opened his eyes to see pure darkness. He couldn’t see the surface anymore. The water didn’t bother his eyes, nor did it irritate it. The one word that came to Will’s mind was _comfort _.___ _

____Just when he thought it was time to get back up, he _felt _light around his feet. He struggled to sit up because of the weight of the water but managed. He saw the stag, it’s charcoal fur flowing in the water and unusually glowing. Will didn’t want to do anything with the stag so he stood up and tried to swim back up, except he found that the stag’s antlers were wrapped around on his foot. Will struggled, kicking it with all the energy he had. But the antlers didn’t budge and he was in desperate need for air. Now.___ _ _ _

______Will screamed and kicked, bending down to physically pry the antlers away from his foot. The bubbles that he was creating, got in the way of his sight. His lungs started burning and when he finally closed his eyes, he felt large hands pull him up._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Will. Will. Are you alright?” Will coughed, breathing in as much oxygen he could take. His hand held onto Hannibal’s arm which was on his back. He tried to speak but Hannibal stopped him._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Don’t talk. It’ll make it worse. Nod for yes, shake your head for no.” Will nodded._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Are you okay?” Will nodded._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Do you want to get out now?” Will nodded once more. Hannibal grabbed Will with both hands, each under Will’s armpits, and heaved him out. Will’s legs felt numb and he subconsciously leaned against Hannibal, inevitably wetting Hannibal’s clothes. Hannibal didn’t seem to mind as he sat Will on the toilet seat, with the lid down._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I’m going to dry you now,” Hannibal said as he reached for two towels, one to put around Will’s shoulders to at least keep him a bit warm and another to dry him off. He started with Will’s legs and worked up. While he was drying him, he looked up at Will who was looking at the wall. His eyes were open but he wasn’t present._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Will, do you think you can stand?” When Hannibal didn’t get a response, he lifted Will up, bridal style and took him into the bedroom where Hannibal had already turned the heater on beforehand. Will seemed to return when the warm air hit his skin. His eyes blinked as he was sat down on his bed._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Hannibal,” Will croaked. “I’m..sorry.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Do not apologise, Will. There is no need,” Hannibal unfolded a grey club Monaco sweater that they had bought and put it on Will, pulling Will’s arms through the hole. “Can you stand up, Will? We need to put your boxers and your pants on.” Hannibal had explained the use of boxers to Will earlier when they were shopping. Will had openly touched his crotch in public asking Hannibal what it was in which Hannibal had to grab Will’s hand and move it away before explaining since they were getting weird glances_ _ _ _ _ _

______Will’s legs trembled a bit as he stood up. He held onto Hannibal’s shoulders for support as Hannibal helped him get his boxers on, and then his pants. When he had finished dressing, Hannibal helped Will back into the bathroom so that he could dry his hair._ _ _ _ _ _

______Hannibal plugged the hairdryer into the outlet and turned it on, using one hand to tousle his hair to get to the wet areas, and one hand to use the hairdryer. He saw Will’s eyes flutter shut and lean into the touch through the mirror. When he finished, Will’s eyes opened and met Hannibal’s._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Thanks for..saving me.” Hannibal set the hairdryer down, unplugging it and returning it to its spot._ _ _ _ _ _

______“You were taking too long and I thought something happened,” Hannibal paused to see if Will was going to explain the situation, but when he saw Will just staring at him he continued. “If you still don’t want to talk about it, Will. That is fine. We have all the time in the world. But, Will. It would be much easier if you tell me so we can work it out _together _.” Will turned around to face Hannibal.___ _ _ _ _ _

________“Let’s have dinner first?” Hannibal thought for a moment before nodding.  
“Of course.” _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Dinner was by then, already ready. Hannibal had left the meal in the oven to keep it warm. Will sat down on the table, confused about what he had just experienced. He could still feel the antlers of the Stag around his foot. He could still feel the fear. Before Will could get carried away with his thoughts, Hannibal came into his sights with two plates and set them down, one in front of him and one in front of Hannibal._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Filet Mignon with Rich Balsamic Glaze.” Hannibal grabbed the new bottle of wine and poured a reasonable amount into both their glasses._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Don’t drink the wine too quickly. You wouldn’t like the outcome.” Hannibal warned as he sat down. Will managed to smile as he held the wine glass close to his nose._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“It smells...weird..”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“I hope you don’t find the taste weird as well.” Hannibal watched as Will took a sip and frowned._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“It’s not bad. But it’s not good.” Will reasoned, making Hannibal himself smile._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________The two began to eat, every now and then Hannibal checked if Will was still with him. There was no hiding that Will wasn’t like himself anymore and it’s only been a few hours. He had hoped to keep the pure, innocent Will for maybe a week or so but it seemed that that wasn’t the case. It only proved that everything comes with a price. In this case, Will unexpectedly came alive with no knowledge of his past or anything to be more accurate but seems to be suffering from what Hannibal thinks are hallucinations._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Where’s the dog?” Will asked as he took a sip of the wine._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“I gave him a bath and he is now resting on the couch,” Will smiled._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Thank you, Hannibal. I didn’t know you would be the type to wash a dog.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“The dog is a boy, what would you like to name him?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Do you have any suggestions?” Hannibal shook his head._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“I’m afraid I haven’t had much experience in naming things so I don’t think I could be much help,” Will chuckled._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“And you think I would have experience? Hannibal, this is my first day being alive.” Hannibal nearly slipped- which was uncommon to him- by telling Will that he used to have seven dogs._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“How about Jorindel?” Will finally said after a long contemplation._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“The character in Jorinda and Jorindel. You seem to enjoy that story.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“I want to be able to read that story from start to finish without your help.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“That would require practice.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Exactly. Can I read it again tonight?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“I have no complaints.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Once the two had finished dinner, Will helped Hannibal with washing the dishes again. By then, Jorindel had woken up and was leaping about the place. They fed him some apples and Hannibal promised to go buy some dog food the next day. Will went upstairs to his room and waited for Hannibal so that they could read together, but Hannibal had told him to go wash up first so that after reading, they could go to sleep._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Will was brushing his teeth awkwardly, not knowing the reason to do so. He simply did it after Hannibal had shown him how to. Hannibal was got dressed in more comfortable clothing before going into Will’s room to sit on his bed, waiting patiently for Will to finish. Will looked at Hannibal and smiled after he had gurgled and wiped his mouth. He turned off the light in the bathroom and sat down, next to Hannibal who had the book in his hand. The lights were off and the only light came from the bedside lamp and the moon which was leaking its light through the curtains._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________The two got comfy. Will was sitting next to Hannibal with their backs against the head of the bed. One of Hannibal’s arms were around Will’s shoulder so he could hold the book for him. Jorindel was sitting in Will’s arms as he began to read._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________

____”There was once an old castle, that stood in the middle of a deep gloomy wood…”____

____  
_ _ _ _

____

____

___Halfway through the book, Will felt the need to tell Hannibal about what happened throughout the past few hours. It was itching him and when Hannibal had said that he would help, it sounded genuine and it seemed that Hannibal didn’t mind doing so. So, mid-sentence, Will closed the book, startling Hannibal who was looking at him with a questionable expression._ _ _

____

__________“The stag has been hurting me,” Hannibal quickly understood what Will was talking about and set the book aside as he began to listen. “And..scaring me. I don’t--I don’t even know why. It was holding me down when I was in the bathtub. I--I was sinking. I sunk to the bottom and it was so deep and after a while, when I decided to go up because I saw the stag, my foot got stuck in its antlers and I couldn’t breathe. It was like it was purposely trying to hold me down. Usually, I could understand what it says but this time. This time, I just don’t understand.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

__________“How does this stag speak to you, Will?” Hannibal felt Will’s head drop onto his shoulder and checked if Will fell asleep but was relieved to see his eyes open._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

__________“I just..sort of..look into its eyes and hear--no feel it,” Will fiddled with his fingers as he continued. “And that time when we were in the car going to get my suit, you told me that I was sleeping but I felt like I was awake the whole time.” Will didn’t mention the thing that looked like Hannibal because he felt that the stag was enough of a problem._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

__________“Do you see the stag, Will. At this very moment?” Hannibal felt Will shaking his head. He wondered if this was one of many hallucinations that Will had had._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

__________“Only when I have my eyes closed, or when I’m sleeping.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

__________“Some believe that the stag represents something that helps connect dreams to wakefulness. They also say that the antlers of a stag act like spiritual antennas, compelling us to listen to our inner thoughts. Maybe your stag was trying to tell you to follow your conscience.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

__________“Conscience?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

__________“What you think is good and bad,” Hannibal explained. Will slipped down into his blanket and was now lying down, looking up at Hannibal._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

__________“I don’t know what is good or bad. I was just brought alive today!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

__________“What do _you _think is good, Will?”___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

____________“Dogs, your cooking, Jorindel, the book, Miss Massuccii and you.” Hannibal smiled when he heard his list. He was glad that he was in there._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

____________“How about Dimmond? Anthony Dimmond?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

____________“I don’t know..I didn’t really like him.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

____________“The things and people you listed just then, you sorted them into good or bad. In the future, more would be added and you yourself will subconsciously sort them out.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

____________“Subconsciously?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

____________“It’s like doing something without yourself knowing.” Will nodded as he yawned. He was happy he got that off his chest and more so when Hannibal helped him dig through the meaning of the stag’s message, bit by bit._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

____________“You should be tired. I’ll let you get some sleep.” Hannibal leaned down to plant a kiss on Will’s forehead. Before he was able to go anywhere, Will cupped his face with his hands._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

____________“Do it again.” Hannibal grinned as he kissed him on the forehead again._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

____________“That felt nice, thank you.” Hannibal got out of the bed and fixed Will’s blanket before heading for the door._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

____________“You know where my room is. If you need anything, feel free to come in,” Will nodded._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

____________“Goodnight then, Will.” Hannibal closed the door slowly before making his way to his own room. He wanted to stay and sleep with him, keep him close so that if anyone tried to take Will away from him, he would slaughter them. But despite those feelings, he urged himself to give Will the space he needed. He didn’t want to rush anything and if there was anyone in this world who was the most patient person in history, it would be Hannibal._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

_____________Good things come to those who wait _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ____

____

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you are all enjoying this so far! I'm surprised myself that I made it to chapter 5. Also, I've got a new story idea for Hannibal and I'm excited to start that one after this one is finished. The new story idea will be darker than this one hohoho.
> 
> (I'm still trying to figure out how to use html and why some lines aren't in italics ;-;) 
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and comments! They motivate me a lot :D 
> 
> Have a good day, afternoon or night!


	6. Evaristo Repetto

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will helps Hannibal in his store and meets some people. Anthony Dimmond comes back and unknowingly irritates Will.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SO SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG. IM STILL ALIVE (UNFORTUNATELY)

The first dim rays of sunlight spilt through the curtains of Hannibal’s room. He stirred in his bed before pushing himself up so he sat in his bed. His mind replayed the “dream” he had about Will. It was such an unusual dream seeing as Hannibal hardly dreamt about him. In fact, he hardly had any dreams that he managed to remember. It was a nice dream. It was nice to see and feel him again. 

Hannibal got out of bed, heading towards his bathroom to wash up. His daily routine began. As he was getting dressed, he heard a small ‘pit pat’ of footsteps. It almost sounded like an animal which got Hannibal wondering. He finished adjusting his tie before opening his door to see a dog walking down the halls to the guest room. It was identical to the one he saw in his dreams. He followed the dog and found the guest room to be slightly opened. He watched as the dog sat down in front of the door and wagged its tail. It was almost like it was telling Hannibal to open the door for him or possibly asking for permission to go in. Nevertheless, Hannibal opened the door as the dog- or if his dream wasn’t actually a dream- Jorindel, jumped on the bed which was currently occupied by someone. The figure stirred as Jorindel began licking and barking at the person. He heard the familiar, low chuckle of the man who he thought he had killed 5 years ago. And then the person sat up. 

“Oh, hey Hannibal. Sorry, did Jorindel wake you up too?” It wasn’t a dream. Will Graham was alive and breathing in his house. Hannibal wasn’t much of a believer in magic or whatever this was, but he didn’t care at this moment. All he cared about was Will and to make this second chance work. 

“No, don’t worry. How are you feeling?” 

“Alright, I guess. What are we going to do today?” Will asked as he picked up Jorindel and walked to Hannibal. Jorindel was licking at Will’s chin and Will had to constantly purse his lips so that Jorindel didn’t lick his lips. 

“I have to go work like any other day. You are more than welcome to come but Jorindel will have to stay at home. We can also go shopping for supplies needed to look after Jorindel if you wish.” Will grinned.

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll just go get dressed.” Will let Jorindel escape from his arms as he watched Hannibal leave, closing the door behind him. He walked to his closet to choose his clothing for the day. After some thought, he went with the solid blue button up and a pair of pants with a dark brown leather belt going around his waist. As he was digging through the closet to find some socks, he found a pair of glasses and curiously examined it, wondering how to use it. The glasses had no prescription and when Will finally found out how to use it he blinked several times before cocking his head in the mirror. 

“Why do people wear this?...” He mumbled. However, instead of taking it off and putting it back where it belonged, he kept them on as he felt some sort of attachment to it. Like it was something he needed. Will looked at himself one more time in the mirror and smiled. He put his hand near his heart and felt it beating. A reminder that he was alive. He heard the scratching of Jorindel at the door and made his way out, letting Jorindel jump all over him. They both walked downstairs to see Hannibal in the kitchen. He had just finished making breakfast and packed lunch for the two of them. When Hannibal saw the glasses on Will, he was surprised. He didn’t know he had glasses in the guest room. He only had that one pair which lay on his bedside table which he used to see better when he was making dolls. 

“I see you’ve found glasses,” Hannibal commented as he transferred the food from the pan to the plate. “They look good on you, but don’t they hurt your eyes?” Will shook his head.

“Is this what they’re called? Glasses? And no, they don’t hurt. Is it supposed to?,” Will sat down on the counter height stool and looked at the food. “And that looks good.” 

Hannibal smiled as he took off his apron and hung it up before taking the two plates and moving into the dining room, Will following. 

“Crème brûlée french toast. And may I take a look at your glasses?” Hannibal asked as he placed the plates down. Will had already sat down in his seat and when Hannibal asked the question he nodded as he took the glasses off and handed it to Hannibal who was standing next to him. 

“No prescription. It’s almost as if it was made for you.” Hannibal said as he returned them before sitting back into his seat. 

“What do you mean?” It was hard for Hannibal to tell Will that his glasses never had a prescription. That his glasses were only there as a barrier. 

“When I created you, I used the new beads that I had recently bought which means your eyes should be perfect. People use glasses when their eyesight isn’t as good. The glasses you are wearing now are..fake so you are allowed to wear it.” Hannibal explained. Will nodded slightly, confused but satisfied with the answer. They began to eat and when they were finished, they fed Jorindel before heading out. 

The ride to the store was quiet. Will didn’t experience any hallucinations which was a relief as he didn’t want to see the stag again. 

When they arrived, Hannibal unlocked the door and turned on the lights. He didn’t get to work on any new dolls yesterday night as Will was there and he wondered if that would happen again tonight as well. He didn’t mind that much as his store was already full of dolls. He had started this store as a way of distraction. Making dolls took time and when he had nothing to do he would make dolls. The overloading amount of dolls really showed how much Hannibal was getting bored. But now that Will was here, he had something to do. He had something to take care of. He had a purpose to live. 

“Will, customers will be coming soon and if you would like, you can stay in the back room, or you could stay with me and help me,” Hannibal said as he sat on the chair which was behind the counter. 

“I..I think I want to stay with you.” 

“Very well. If you begin to get bored, tell me. I can always close the store early.” Will nodded as he looked at all the dolls. 

“Why me?” Will said, keeping his back towards Hannibal as he picked up a small doll. 

“I don’t believe I understand.” 

“Out of all these dolls you made. Why did I only come alive? What if I didn’t come alive? Would you of sold me?” Will fiddled with the dolls hair. 

“You were unique,” Hannibal said as he got out of his chair and made his way to Will. He put a hand on his as the other went on his shoulder. “And Will, because you were unique, I wouldn’t have sold you. I wouldn’t be able to.”Will looked up from the doll and met Hannibal’s eyes. 

“Unique? What-” Before Will could continue the store doorbell rang which made the two of them turn their heads to the door. 

“Buongiorno!” A young woman, around her mid-twenties, came in, beaming happily. Her hair was in a bun and frankly, it looked like she had just woken up. 

“Buongiorno,” Hannibal replied as he grabbed the doll from Will’s hand gently and placed it back on the shelf.

“I’m sorry, was I too early? My friend recently bought a doll from your store and I just found it so adorable that I had to come here as quick as possible,” She looked down at her clothing and back at Hannibal and gave him a shy smile. “Let’s just say I was desperate.” Hannibal returned the smile, warmly as he nodded. 

“That’s quite alright. Take your time.” Will watched the two interact and forced himself to stop thinking about him being abandoned. It wasn’t long until the woman chose her doll and went to the counter to pay. It was a female doll with a tan brimmed hat with a black ribbon. It wore a nice flower dress and complimented the woman’s personality. Will just watched from the side and when the woman made eye contact with Will, he felt like looking away but for some reason, he felt the glasses made it less comfortable. The woman smiled at him and Will reluctantly gave her an awkward smile back, not wanting to be rude. 

“Grazie molte, Mr…” 

“Jakov. Boris Jakov.” 

“Mr Jakov. And this beautiful man here?” 

“Evaristo Repetto,” Will answered holding out a hand to her for a handshake. Hannibal watched the scene unfold. Will was learning. Learning so quickly that it made him smile. He was proud of his short development. The woman shook his hand as her other was clutching the doll. 

“Thank you, both so much. The dolls here are just so beautiful. I’ll definitely tell my other friends about it.” The woman gave the two a smile before heading out. 

Will looked at Hannibal who was sorting out the money in the cashier. 

“She was nice. Miss Maccussii was nice. Is everyone here just nice?” Will asked. 

“Not everyone. And I hope that you never get to meet anyone who is rude to you.” There was silence as Hannibal sat back down on the stool while Will was looking at the dolls again. 

“Hannibal, will you tell me why I’m unique?” Hannibal thought for a moment. Nothing lasts forever and one day, Will will find out the truth. The truth about the owner of his heart and simultaneously find out the truth about Hannibal. Something about the fact that Hannibal had given a second chance with Will stopped himself from revealing Will everything. If he was to be honest, Will would probably not understand. Still, what if he did? If Will understood everything, he would most likely turn Hannibal in. This Will did not seem to have the same thinking pattern as the other Will. Which was a shame as that was one of the main reasons Hannibal had taken an interest in him.

“You’ll find out one day, Will. Until then, all I want you to know is that you are special to me.” Will reluctantly nodded, knowing that no matter how much he was to ask Hannibal, he wouldn’t get a proper answer. Will decided to just push the thoughts to the side until the moment comes. _Until the moment comes_

__Seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned into hours. Will watched the customers come in and out, fascinated by the different personalities. One customer especially caught his attention. The man had a little girl with him and watched her pick the dolls with a frown on his face, constantly looking down at his phone. When she finally chose one, the man disregarded her choice and attempted to drag her out._ _

__“But Papà! You promised to get me a doll!”_ _

__“God, I knew I shouldn’t have taken you out.” The father replied as he snatched the doll out of his daughter’s hands and threw it on the counter.  
“How much is it?” He asked, opening his wallet. _ _

__“3.84€.” Hannibal calmly replied._ _

__“For a small doll? God, I don’t want to be spending my money on something like this. Chamie, we’re going home.”_ _

__“Papà!”_ _

__“Why must you be so annoying? You’re staying at your mother’s next week and tell her it’s because I’m busy.”_ _

__“Papà, don’t say that..” The little girl mumbled as she grabbed the doll from the counter and placed it back on the shelf._ _

__“Hurry up.” The father was already out the door, leaving his girl behind. The girl longingly looked at the doll, sighing as she was about to walk out. Before she left, Will grabbed her arm gently and handed her the doll. Hannibal watched from the counter, interested._ _

__“Here, take it..Chamie? Don’t show your Papà. It’s a gift from me.” Will said as he tucked the doll into her hands._ _

__“But..I have no money.”_ _

__“As I said, it’s a gift. You don’t need to give me any money.” Chamie gave Will a kiss on the cheek before smiling._ _

__“Molte Grazie! I will treasure this.” Will returned the smile._ _

__“I hope so. You should get going now, your father is waiting for you.” Chamie nodded before heading out, looking back at Will one more time before disappearing from their sight. Will walked back to Hannibal and rubbed the nape of his neck._ _

__“Sorry...I hope you didn’t mind that.”_ _

__“Not at all, Will. Although it would’ve been thoughtful if you told me what you were going to do.”_ _

__“I won’t do it again.”_ _

__“I know you won’t.”_ _

__After lunch, the store bell rang and Will instantly creased his eyebrows at the man._ _

__“Buona sera, Mr Jakov!”_ _

__“Anthony, a pleasure to see you.”_ _

__“Likewise. I see Mr Repetto is here as well?” Will uncomfortably greeted him before pretending to fix the positions of the dolls._ _

__“Is Mr Repetto here to help you?”_ _

__“He is an old friend of mine and he’s come to Italy for a break. He’s decided to help me with my store while he writes his novel.”_ _

__“Novel? An author?” Hannibal nodded while Wil began to get used to the lies that spilt from Hannibal’s mouth. _When will he ever tell the truth? Has he ever lied to me? Will thought. _____

____

__

____“Interesting,” Anthony paused before continuing. “I was thinking..maybe we could have dinner together. Just the two of us.” Hannibal gave him a smile before glancing at Will who was frowning._ _ _ _

____“Evaristo doesn’t know Tuscany as well as us. Nor does he know how to cook so leaving him in my kitchen alone wouldn’t be a nice option.”_ _ _ _

____“He lives with you?”_ _ _ _

____“He has nowhere else to go.” Hannibal simply replied._ _ _ _

____“Then if you don’t mind…” Anthony trailed off, knowing that Hannibal knew what he still wanted._ _ _ _

____“Of course. Evaristo and I would love to have you for dinner.” Will crossed his arms, almost glaring at Hannibal. _Since when? Will was getting slightly frustrated at the situation but he couldn't do anything but to watch.__ _ _ _

______“Then it’s settled then?” Hannibal gave Anthony the address to his house before Anthony bid them farewell. As soon as Anthony left, Will began to talk._ _ _ _ _ _

______“What are you talking about? Why do you lie so much? Why..why is he having dinner with us?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“He has been kind to me for as long as I’ve been here. It is only polite to treat him to something.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“I don’t like him..” Will finally said as he looked down._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I am aware. Maybe this can be the chance for you to know him. And possibly grow to like him.” Hannibal suggested, although he himself knew that would be nearly impossible. But it was amusing to imagine the possibility. Meanwhile, Will was internally panicking and at the same time was annoyed. So much unknown emotions. He almost wished he was a doll again. He felt that Anthony knew that Will didn’t favour him and that Anthony returned the feelings. How would he eat dinner with this..this stranger? He was only comfortable with Hannibal, he figured. Hannibal only._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Do you like him?” Will asked cautiously._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I appreciate his company.” He should’ve have known that he wouldn’t answer the question. Day two and Will was already getting used to Hannibal’s speaking habits. It was like he always knew him._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I want to go home.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Just a few more hours, Will. I’ve shortened the time I spend in my store for you. We still need to buy Jorindel some supplies which I assume you would like to take part in.” Will nodded._ _ _ _ _ _

______“We’ll do it as soon as I close up and then I’ll have to prepare for the dinner tonight.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______When Hannibal finally began to pack up, Will celebrated quietly, excited to buy Jorindel new toys and food. He had forgotten about the dinner throughout the whole shopping trip and it was only when Hannibal brought it up again whilst they arrived home, did it hit him. Will called for Jorindel who was sleeping on the couch and showed him the new things he had bought which consisted of a bed, squeaky and soft toys, a collar and dog food._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Will, would you like to help me cook dinner?” Hannibal asked as he put on his apron. Will refrained himself from saying ‘yes’ because he felt that he would spit in the food that Anthony was going to eat. Or mess it up on purpose and he didn’t want to get Hannibal mad again._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I want to play with Jorindel.” Will said instead._ _ _ _ _ _

______It was around 6 pm when Hannibal had finished preparing the dinner. Will was lying on the couch with Jorindel in his arms. He had gotten dressed to something more formal much to his dislike. Why do I need to get dressed for ? He thought. Hannibal walked towards his direction and looked down at Will._ _ _ _ _ _

______“My second day alive and I have to have dinner with a stranger?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Acquaintance.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Acquaintance?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Someone you know slightly but not that much to be considered friends. Word of the day.”  
“I don’t know anything about him. And it’s night.” _ _ _ _ _ _

______“Word of the night then.” Will was going to argue more about Anthony when his heart dropped as he heard the doorbell. Hannibal walked towards the door, smiling._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Hannibal.” He tried one more time. Hannibal stopped and turned to Will. He walked to him and gave him a hug._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Only for this one night, Will. We can do anything you want tomorrow.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Anything?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Anything,” Hannibal repeated. He heard a small ‘fine’ and let go of Will, looking into his eyes._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Thank you, Will.” Hannibal made his way back to the door again and opened it wide._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Mr Jakov!”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Anthony.”_ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm proud to say that I haven't given up on this story and I'm sorry if you thought I did. Also, I do not speak Italian (I really want to ;-;) so I apologise if I make stupid errors. I'm trying to stay away from google translate cause that thing is untrustable. So if there's anyone who would like to help me with the Italian parts you are more than welcome to tell me!
> 
> School has started so that's going to be a pain in the ass. I decided to update every Fridays or Saturdays (AEDT) and if I don't it means I'm drowning in homework or school has sucked the creative juices out of me for the week. So I apologise in advance. I'll stop talking now. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!   (●´ω｀●)


	7. Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dinner with Anthony is agonising for Will and his night gets worse when he gets a nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS BITCH EMPTY *throws this shitty chapter at you* YEEEEeEET
> 
> I'm so sorry. I have been dying throughout the last few weeks *cough cough* months- but I'm back! :")

Will was obviously sulking. He didn’t try to hide it. He was pissed and hated that when he looked up from his food that it wasn’t Hannibal but Anthony. Jorindel was by his feet and was taking a nap which was the only thing that Will appreciated. Hannibal on the other hand was talking to Anthony about something that Will didn’t understand. He would occasionally invite Will into the conversation but instead of stringing out a sentence, he would reply with a word or two. He was getting tired and he wondered when Anthony would leave. He shifted his glasses before taking a drink of the wine. It still tasted foreign and he preferred water but Will didn’t say anything. He caught Anthony glancing at him time to time which made Will extremely uncomfortable. Anthony must’ve noticed and apologised. 

“I’m terribly sorry, Mr Repetto but you just look so familiar.” He reasoned. Will furrowed his brows. 

“What do you mean?” 

“I feel like I’ve seen you before. What did you say your occupation was again?” Will looked at Hannibal who was casually sipping his wine. Why wasn’t he helping him with answering the question? 

“I..I write books.” 

 

“Right, you were an author. How’s that novel going so far?” 

“Good.” Will mumbled, averting his gaze from Hannibal to his food. 

“What is it about?” 

“I’m not allowed to tell you.” 

“Shame. I would’ve loved to hear about it. You look like someone with raging creativity. I’m looking forward to your novel.” Will just nodded and whispered a small ‘thank you’ before continuing to eat. He caught Hannibal giving a sly smile and frowned. Was he enjoying this? Will felt something brush up against his leg and looked down to see Jorindel awake. He was hungry. This was a chance to leave this table. 

“Hannibal, I’m going to go feed Jorindel.” Will didn’t wait for Hannibal’s answer. He got up and lead Jorindel to the kitchen. He poured some dog food into his little bowl and sat down next to him. 

“I really hate this. Don’t you?” The only response he received were the crunches of the dog food.

“Do you think Hannibal still cares about me? Do you think he’s already getting sick of me?” Will could hear Hannibal’s voice from the dining room and sighed. He leaned on a wall near Jorindel and stared up at the ceiling. 

“I want to read Jorinda and Jorindel.” Jorindel’s ears perked up from hearing his name and stared at Will, waiting for something. 

“Oh. Not you. The original Jorindel.” Will said, laughing a little. He scratched the back of Jorindel’s ear. He had finished eating and as Will let his hand fall down from his ears, Jorindel crawled into his lap. 

“You’re tired again? You just took a nap!” Although Will slightly complained, he started stroking him. His fur was soft and his body was warm. It was making Will sleepy. He closed his eyes and gave a sigh. He heard the chairs scrape in the dining room and the footsteps getting quieter as if it was heading towards the door. Jorindel stirred in his arms as he heard the front door close. The distant footsteps that were coming closer should’ve woken him up but instead, he kept his eyes remained shut.

“Will?” 

_Hannibal_

__“Will.” He felt large warm hands on his forehead as he lazily opened his eyes._ _

__“Where’s Anthony?”_ _

__“I sent him home early.”_ _

__“Sorry.”_ _

__“Don’t be.” The weight on his laps disappeared as Jorindel got off him, as if he knew that Will was going to get up. Or, trying to get up. Will’s leg felt like jelly and Hannibal had noticed. He easily lifted Will up from the floor and carried him into his room. Will didn’t have the energy to complain but instead, brought his arms around Hannibal’s neck and pulled himself as close as possible to Hannibal. He didn’t know why he did it but he felt it to be necessary. After seeing Hannibal with Anthony, Will couldn’t shake off this dirty feeling. He didn’t know what it was and it frustrated him. On the other hand, Hannibal smiled as he felt Will’s arms around his neck. He was so close to Will and if he just made one small move, their lips would touch. Instead, he kissed Will’s forehead and felt Will relax in his arms. Jorindel was trotting beside them as Hannibal reached Will’s room. He pushed open the door slightly with his foot and placed Will down gently on his bed._ _

__“I’m going to change your clothes now.” Hannibal said as he took off Will’s jacket. Will didn’t reply but gave Hannibal an approving smile as Hannibal went to get Will’s pyjamas from his drawer. When he returned back to Will, he gently took off his clothes and folded them neatly. His fingers brushed against Will’s skin as he helped Will put his shirt on and then bent down to help with the pants. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Will trying to balance himself which made Hannibal smile._ _

__“You should get some rest, Will.” Will didn’t reply and stared at him blankly._ _

__“Will?”_ _

__“Yes-I mean. Sorry?”_ _

__“I suggested you go to sleep. Unless you have any complains?”_ _

__“No, I’ll sleep.” Will slid into the bed and closed his eyes._ _

__“Do you want the door open?” Hannibal asked as he put the blanket over Will. Will sighed. The bed was cold. Hannibal was warmer. Will thought._ _

__“Closed. It’s cold.” Hannibal nodded._ _

__“And I’m assuming you want Jorindel with you?” Hannibal didn’t have to wait for a reply as he already knew it. He smoothed Will’s hair back softly and planted a kiss on his forehead again._ _

__“Goodnight, Will.” He watched as Jorindel jumped onto the bed and settled at the end of Will’s feet. Will replied with a lazy ‘goodnight’ before he closed his eyes. Hannibal glanced at Will one last time before closing the door behind him and instead of going into his own room, he went into his study room. It used to be a daily thing for Hannibal to check tattlecrime when he was back in Baltimore. It was a daily thing to check and look back at his art. His masterpiece. It was a shame that he couldn’t do it anymore. There were times where he couldn’t help himself to stock up his meat supply but none of them were displayed as beautifully as they used to. He opened his laptop and clicked on the bookmark. Freddie Lounds was still updating her website. Constantly trespassing through crime scenes and quite frankly, being rude. He wished she had at least gotten rid of the articles about Will. He didn’t want Will to find out about the truth. Not yet. He sighed as he closed the laptop and rubbed his face in his hands. His ‘normal’ life was again, disrupted and coincidentally it was because of the same man. Will Graham. Even if he wanted to start somewhere fresh, Will was always somehow there to interrupt it._ _

__“H-Hannibal?...” Hannibal’s head shot to the door and found Will rubbing his eyes. He looked disturbed which made the latter immediately stand up._ _

__“Will, what’s the matter?” He asked as he walked towards him. Will shook his head and let his head fall onto Hannibal’s chest._ _

__“I don’t know..I..something happened while I was sleeping. I saw pictures..no..moving pictures while my eyes were closed. It was like I was still awake. It was scary.” Hannibal stayed quiet, waiting for Will to continue._ _

__“Can I...can I sleep with you?” He mumbled. Hannibal placed a hand on Will’s chin and brought it up so he could make eye contact._ _

__“Of course, Will. Why don’t you go into my room first. I will be there in a moment.” Will nodded slowly and walked away, leaving Hannibal to contemplate for a moment before following him. Will was already in his bed, curled up with his eyes closed. They opened as soon as Hannibal laid down on his side to face him. Will instantly shifted towards him, closing the gap and trying to keep warm. Hannibal placed a hand on Will’s cheek and looked at him affectionately._ _

__“I’m sorry.” Will mumbled._ _

__“Don’t be. There is nothing to be sorry for.” They lay in silence as Hannibal watched Will’s eyes flutter shut. He thought he was sleeping when Will began to speak._ _

__“I was with Jorindel. We were playing outside and suddenly the whole place went dark and I was..in a house? It was raining outside and everything was dark,” Will paused as he opened his eyes. He looked terrified as if he had saw the nightmare again. “I went into what looked like a kitchen except there was the red liquid all over the floor. There was a lot of it. And in the middle was...was this thing..so full of darkness. It had stag antlers and it was staring right at me,” Hannibal shifted his hand to Will’s hair and began running his fingers through it, encouraging him to continue and also reminding him that he was there for him. “My heart was heavy and I felt...I felt that darkness. Hannibal, is that even possible? I felt it crawling into my skin and suddenly I couldn’t breathe anymore. That’s when... I woke up.” Hannibal stopped running his fingers through Will’s hair when he had finished talking about his nightmare and placed them back on his cheek._ _

__“You were brave, Will. Very brave.” Hannibal praised as he caressed his cheek gently, earning a faint smile from him._ _

__“Can you..kiss me? It felt nice the last time. Could you do it again?” The question both surprised and thrilled Hannibal. He hadn’t expected this but they were words that Hannibal had wanted to hear when he had first met Will. Hannibal leaned his head closer to Will, their lips were inches apart. He glanced down at Will’s lips before pressing his own against his. The kiss was slow and gentle. Almost like the last time Hannibal had kissed him when he was lying on his kitchen floor, dead. Only this time, Will was much alive and made a small noise of surprise. Hannibal pulled away and smiled gently at Will who was looking genuinely confused._ _

__“That. That wasn’t a kiss, Hannibal.”_ _

__“It was, Will. Kisses don’t always have to be on your forehead,” Hannibal paused. “Did you not like it?” Will shook his head almost immediately._ _

__“No-no I loved it- It felt..nice. Better than when you kissed me on my forehead.” The way Will looked at Hannibal created a spark in his heart and Hannibal had fallen in love with Will again. There will be not one day when Hannibal won’t stop falling in love with him. Hannibal wrapped an arm around Will, pulling him closer and closed his eyes, breathing in his scent. A scent that never left his mind ever since that night._ _

__“I will kiss you anytime, Will. All you need to do is ask.” Hannibal mumbled._ _

_I am forever at my knees when I am with you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, heads up, I'm going to be writing another hannigram fan fic and it'll be darker than this one since I realised I honestly suck at writing fluffy things because I myself am not a fluffy human. I'll just stick to murdering people.


	8. Lunch Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannibal opens the store for the day, Will is in more agony because of Anthony and to think his day couldn't get any worse, he has to have lunch with him now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yayy an update :D
> 
> Not proofread so, sorry for the mistakes

“Hannibal, I’m ready.” 

“Did you feed Jorindel?” 

“Yes.” 

“Jacket?” 

“Jacket?- oh. Oh thank you.” 

Will took the jacket out of Hannibal’s hand and put it on. The two had slept peacefully until the next morning and was woken by Jorindel jumping on the bed. Hannibal had accidentally slept in which was the first time in a while however, he steadily got ready to go to his store and open it. Will was still half asleep but complained that he wanted to go as well, even though Hannibal had suggested that he should get more sleep. In the end, Will had won the small argument and they both had a quick breakfast and was making their way out. 

The ride to the store was silent as Will had fallen asleep. Hannibal knew he should’ve persuaded Will harder but the Will sitting right next to him was so different to the Will he used to know that all Hannibal wanted to do was observe him and be next to him. 

“Will, we have arrived.” Hannibal unclipped his seatbelt for Will after doing his own and watched him stir, groaning as he stretched. The first thing Will did was turn to Hannibal and smile. Unlike all the other times where the old Will’s smile was forced or filled with guilt, this Will’s smile was full of innocence and purity. 

“Is this what you do every day?” Will asked. 

“Yes,” Hannibal got out of the car and went to the other side to open it for Will. “Although, I wake up much earlier than this.” 

Will thanked him quietly and got out, “Don’t you get tired?”

“Not at all. I have gotten used to waking up at an early hour.” Hannibal made his way to the store and unlocked it, holding the door open for Will. 

“That’s amazing.” Hannibal smiled at his comment as he turned on the lights. 

“You may stay in the backroom today, and any other day if the customers are too overwhelming and if you feel in any way, uncomfortable.” He went to the backroom and unlocked the door for Will.  
“Thank you, Hannibal.” Will was still scared of the backroom but he didn’t want to burden Hannibal about it. 

Time moved on and customers came in and out. Will was starting to get comfortable in the backroom, leaning back on Hannibal’s chair while attempting to read the books around the room. He of course understood little but found it exciting to see new words. Hannibal would come check in now and then to see if Will was okay or if he was hungry. The answer was always, “I’m fine, Hannibal. Don’t worry.” or “No, I’m not hungry. But what does this word mean?” in which Hannibal would explain the word to him and carry on with his store. 

Hannibal checked the time and saw it was nearly lunch. This only meant one thing. The store doorbell rang and Hannibal didn’t need to look up to know who it was. 

“Good evening, Boris!” 

“Good evening, Anthony.”

Anthony made his way to Hannibal who was behind the counter, he leaned against it and smiled at Hannibal. 

“Last night’s dinner was amazing. If I had known you were such a chef, I would’ve begged to be at your table.” Hannibal only smiled back.

“And how is Mr Repetto?” Anthony asked, looking around as if he was looking for him.

“Evaristo is in the backroom right now. He had too much wine before you came for dinner and wasn’t feeling well.” Hannibal explained. 

“Oh, so, Mr Repetto is here right now? Do you mind if I just pop in the back to say hi?” Hannibal nodded and gestured to the door. 

Will was half asleep when Anthony had entered the store but became wide awake as soon as he heard that familiar distasteful voice. He listened to their conversation and cringed when he heard Hannibal lie. One day, Will would tell Anthony directly that he very much hates him. When Will heard Anthony receive permission from Hannibal to come say hi to him, he panicked. He really didn’t want to see his face. It would only ruin his day. Alas, the universe was not on his side as he saw the door open and Anthony’s head popped out. 

“Good evening, Mr Repetto.” 

“Hi.” 

“Is it alright if I start calling you Evaristo?” Will’s eyes twitched and he wanted to tell him to go away. 

“Sure.” 

“I hope you are feeling alright today.” 

“I’m fine.” _Now please leave_

____

____

“I was wondering if you wanted to meet a friend of mine. She’s here for a holiday with her son and we were going to have lunch together. I’m also inviting Boris.” 

“I’ll uh..think about it. Thank you.” 

“Your welcome, Evaristo. I’ll hopefully see you soon.” And with that Anthony left the room. Will was able to breathe again as he slouched in the chair. He didn’t even realise that his back had straightened. Anthony had left the door opened and Will could hear Hannibal agreeing with his lunch plans. It made Will groan as he slid down the chair in agony. More humans and even worse, more time spent with Anthony and not just Hannibal. 

“Evaristo?- Evaristo. What are you doing on the floor?” Will tilted his head to the doorway and saw Hannibal. He smiled weakly. 

“I fell.” He saw Hannibal’s legs come closer and felt his arms lift him up. 

“Come on, Evaristo. We’re going to have a break now. As Anthony had already told you, we will be having lunch with him and a friend.” 

“Are you doing this on purpose?” Will asked, eyeing him. 

Hannibal cocked his head, “What are you talking about?” 

“You know I don’t like Anthony but you keep making me spend time with him.” 

“I am not making you do anything. You can stay here by yourself and I’ll bring you lunch if you’d prefer.” Will’s lips twitched. He didn’t want to be separated from Hannibal. Especially if he was with Anthony. 

“I’ll go.” 

“You don’t have to.” 

“I want to.” Will forced out, taking off his glasses and rubbing his face with his hands. By doing this, he had missed the sly smile on Hannibal’s face. 

“Then let’s head out. Anthony is waiting for us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Catch me writing 'Hannibal' or 'Will' instead of 'Boris' or 'Evaristo' when another character is calling out their name. I am bound to make this mistake.


End file.
